HYDERABAD: Announcing major initiatives for non-resident Indians, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday said a decision would soon be taken on granting voting rights to NRIs in the Gulf.

An easy-to-use integrated electronic facility to remit money would be launched, there would be a more liberal Pravasi Bharatiya Bima Yojana for workers from February 1 and the emigration process would be modernised.

Dr. Singh was inaugurating the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas-2006 at the newly opened Hyderabad International Convention Centre.

He presented to Nivruti Rai, an IT professional working in Intel, the first Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card, referred to as the dual citizenship card. A passport with an OCI status, it entitles the holder to multiple entries into India without a visa.

Stake in governance

On the demand for voting rights, he said most overseas Indians in the Gulf would never become naturalised citizens in those countries. They had their immediate families back home. Thus they had a vital stake in local governance and in choosing their representatives in the Assembly or Parliament. Their demand for voting rights, therefore, had a convincing political basis. The proposal was at an advanced stage of consideration.

Dr. Singh saluted the Indian diaspora — estimated at 20 million — especially workers and professionals, for their contribution to the nation's economic development. In recent years, the inflow of remittances increased impressively, from $13 billion in 2001 to over $20 billion in 2005.

He unveiled plans to set up a diaspora network by which users and providers of knowledge could discover one another and work together.

He expressed satisfaction that a memorandum of understanding was being signed between the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs and the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin.

The Prime Minister expressed concern over Indian universities losing ground and failing to become global players. He said he was conscious of the overseas Indians' demand for access to educational opportunities in India and, therefore, welcomed the idea of a University for People of Indian Origin.

Oscar Fernandes, Minister of State for Overseas Indian Affairs, said the Centre would welcome partnerships between overseas professional bodies and institutions such as Nasscom, FICCI, CII and Assocham.

The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Hyderabad would see a paradigm shift from a mere event to a global forum targeting specific outcomes.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail